


Hairy Christmas, Baby

by SBG



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: First Kiss, Holidays, M/M, Pining, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-03 14:45:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2854634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SBG/pseuds/SBG
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's something different about Danny. Steve must know what it is, but in looking he discovers there's also something different about himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hairy Christmas, Baby

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this is what I get when I foolishly start watching an old favorite show instead of focusing on writing - almost missed Christmas entirely. Curse you, Mulder and Scully! Hey, it's still Christmas where I am. Happy holidays to all who celebrate, good tidings to everyone, no matter what.

Steve was a very focused person, so focused that sometimes it drove him to distraction. That didn’t make any sort of reasonable sense, but he knew when he became wrapped up in one particular task or goal he developed tunnel vision and other things – daily life, human interaction things – escaped him. He filtered out anything that wasn’t pertinent to the duty at hand, easily sorted data into neat little mental piles of important and unimportant. Eventually all of the unimportant stuff would make itself known to him if it ever changed to important, or it would fall off of his radar entirely. Irrelevancies weren’t worth his attention at any time. 

The point was that though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it, he was sure something was different. He’d missed something, somewhere and now he needed to figure out what. Steve slid a surreptitious glance at his partner, who by all outward appearances seemed exactly the same as always. Danny was grinning at Kono and lifting a bottle of beer to his mouth at the same time, somehow keeping the smile as he drank. There was nothing different about Danny’s demeanor or appearance that Steve could discern, yet there was. He wasn’t sure when he’d started registering a change. He only knew that he was aware now. 

He might have chalked it up to Danny being refreshed from vacation. Now, Steve wasn’t one for vacations himself. When he was still active duty and on leave, he managed to keep himself occupied fairly well – the cliché “any port in a storm” did fit his MO for a few years, and after that he and Catherine managed to work out their leaves together on frequent enough occasions to satiate each of their needs. More often than not, though, he’d use that time earmarked for rest and relaxation for a short while but then always find an excuse to cut the leave short and get back to work. Idleness only gave him time to think about things that would impede not only his aspirations but his peace of mind. He got better at compartmentalizing, of course, but by the time he did he’d already developed the habit of not taking the time to rest. 

It wasn’t that much different now. Five-0 kept him almost as busy as he’d been in Naval Intelligence, and he had become even more bogged with personal issues. The skeletons in his closet had a knack for multiplying. No, down time was not his thing, but he had to admit it had merits for others. Danny looked … happy, relaxed. Younger, somehow, the benefits of his vacation far reaching. The thing of it was, though, it had been months since Danny had returned from a trip to the mainland to visit his family. He still seemed to have more residual spring in his step, but it wasn’t that which Steve was picking up on. He was sure it was something more.

He just had no idea what. He would find out. Now that he was aware there was something to investigate, he didn’t have much choice but to follow through. That was another side effect of his focus – while the personal stuff eluded him most of the time, once it was brought to his attention he had to turn over every stone. And there was no one’s stones he enjoyed turning over as much as Danny’s. 

Er. Yeah. If he’d spoken that, it would have come out all wrong. Steve raised his own drink, hiding the slight flush of internal embarrassment he was sure no one would know about anyway. He caught Danny giving him a look, his grin staying in place but a sharpness in his eyes asking a silent question. Steve shook his head. Trust Danny to notice the tiniest of things. Part of what made them such a good team was the way they filled in strengths for each other’s weaknesses. He shook his head. Like he needed to give Danny any fuel for giving him a hard time, though truth be told he enjoyed it when they razzed each other. Other people had vacations – for him, his rejuvenation came in the form of a five-foot-five package wrapped in a New Jersey attitude.

He thought fleetingly what that said about him, then dismissed it as inconsequential. 

“What?” Danny asked, his eyes blurry with maybe a little too much drink and food, but warm, happy. Content, even. It was good to see, no matter the cause. “What’s going on in your head, you goof?”

Steve could end the curiosity pinging at the edges of his radar by asking Danny flat-out what it was that was making him so … agreeable. He thought about it for half a second, maybe less. He’d figure it out, whatever it was, or go crazy trying. He gave Danny a lazy grin as he thought about all the times the other man had already called him crazy. Really, he had nothing to lose by sussing it out himself, and plenty to gain. The satisfaction of finding more about what made Danny tick, for one. 

“Was just thinking what we need with this beer is pie,” Steve said. He took a deep breath and straightened. He clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “Who’s ready for some pie?”

He was met with a chorus of groans, which made him smile. What made him smile more was when none of them hesitated in following him back into the house. Chin, Kono and Danny kept chatting as they started pulling fresh plates and silverware from cupboards and drawers. The quiet hum of conversation filled a house he’d thought would always be filled only with ghosts. He’d been pleased when the team had all come to spend the evening with him. He liked the idea of establishing traditions, setting down some roots. That surprised him a little, a change in what he considered his M.O. He was glad for it, though. He sliced into the pies – pumpkin, apple, cherry – and broke out the whipped cream. Steve wasn’t one for indulgence in any aspect in his life, but on this day of thanks, he appreciated the abundance of food, friends and fondness. 

For now, sharing a few hundred empty calories with a few good friends was all Steve needed to focus on. As he shoved a forkful of whipped cream laden cherry pie into his mouth, he flicked his attention to Kono, then Chin and finally, Danny. He didn’t think the warmth in his gut was indigestion.

H50H50H50

Danny wasn’t a subtle man. No one who might ever meet the guy for even a scant five minutes would use that as a descriptive term for him. That being what it was, Steve had honestly thought Danny would be an easy nut to crack. Once the seed that something about his partner was just a little left of center had been planted, it should have been a simple task to find out what. Steve wasn’t a cop by traditional standards and specific training, but he had years of similar investigative experience. Yet, the task was proving damn near insurmountable. He supposed he should have clued in to the fact it wouldn’t be that easy when he hadn’t instantly been able to tell what it was niggling at him, that it was some strange thing, just out of reach.

It wasn’t Grace or any reduction in the ongoing emotional turmoil that came with custody arrangements. That one had been easy to rule out – Danny would have told him about any positive changes there, and would also have not been shy about sharing it with any and everyone. Steve didn’t know think there was anyone who deserved more of the kind of happiness that came with being with their child than his partner, and he was disappointed on Danny’s behalf that increased custody wasn’t what was putting pep in his step. 

He was also sure it wasn’t a new romantic relationship or hookup. He was a guy just like Danny; he’d know the “just scored” swagger if he saw it, even though Danny swaggered on any given day and for no definitive reason. It was just who he was, Steve thought with a smile as he watched Danny strut on out of his office to join Chin at the tech table. 

Beyond those two things, Steve was stumped. He thought he knew Danny as well as he’d known anyone, but perhaps that wasn’t the case. Perhaps there were pockets of mystery to his partner buried among the obvious personality traits. Perhaps, even, the obvious personality traits were all genuinely Danny at all. Steve narrowed his eyes, studied Danny as he’d been doing for a couple of weeks now. Having been unable to find a concrete source, Steve had started to think maybe it was all in his head and that Danny was the same Danny as always. He wasn’t one to give up so easily, though, so he had begun to monitor his partner. Not in a creepy way (he was pretty sure), just tried to delve a little deeper into Danny’s part of their conversations. Attempted to note any physical behaviors outside the cock-of-the-block walk that might clue him in. 

He noted the fit of Danny’s shirts was like a second skin half the time. He couldn’t help but see the black ink on his partner’s hand was becoming more smudged with age and sun exposure, or how he kept his fingernails if not manicured, then well maintained. The trousers he wore seemed a bit more tailored than they’d been a year ago, and done well to accentuate the curve of his back and ass. That was all Danny, always had been. There was nothing notable he’d been able to discern, other than that pervasive, odd … energy. Confidence, maybe that was a better word for it. He’d always been drawn to Danny as a person anyway, a common reaction for the guy despite him coming off as dour most of the time, but that attraction seemed more distinct somehow. 

He narrowed his eyes and gave Danny yet another onceover, thinking maybe distance would grant him clarity he hadn’t succeeded in getting in close quarters with Danny for hours. Steve wondered how long it had been since Danny’s skin had taken on that golden tone of a long term islands resident. He wondered how many other things besides this thing he couldn’t figure out that he’d missed, not seeing the forest for the trees. Had the lines around Danny’s eyes always looked like they’d been from laughter? 

He watched Danny lean close to Chin, invading the other man’s space, putting his hand on the small of Chin’s back to guide him a step to the side. Something visceral and sharp cut through him, observing that. While he had always been aware there were fewer boundaries between himself and Danny than most people, he’d never considered it was the same with Danny and others. With _anyone_ , save for maybe Grace, and in a different way. He had no idea why he didn’t like it, but he didn’t like it enough he realized he was standing up and halfway around his desk before he knew what he was doing. He halted dead in his tracks, felt a little befuddled about what he was doing. Why he was doing it. The only thing he knew for sure was that he wanted to insert himself as some kind of barrier between Danny and Chin. Like maybe he was jealous.

What. 

What the shitting shit. 

Steve retreated to his chair and sank into it. The temptation to cover his face with his hands was too hard to fight. He did just that, holding his cupped hands there for a second, then ground the butt of his hands into his eye sockets. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to accomplish, other than maybe pressing the idea of strange, out-of-the-blue possessiveness of his partner out of his brain. It didn’t make any sense, couldn’t. It was a product of spending too much time thinking about his partner, that was all. 

“Hey, Steve,” Danny said.

Dropping his hands and opening his eyes, Steve saw Danny had stepped into his office doorway and that he had a worried expression on his face. His eyes were very blue, Steve thought. 

“Yeah,” Steve said.

“You okay, there? You look like you’ve just swallowed castor oil or something.”

Or something was right. 

“I’m fine.” Steve gave himself a small shake, tried to make it look like he’d been busy working, not scoping his partner out. “What’s up?”

“Lunch, if you’re down with it,” Danny said, still looking half worried, but now also half perplexed. 

“Sounds good,” Steve said faintly.

He ignored Danny’s continued inquisitive looks, the frown marring his partner’s handsome face. Shit, there he went. He’d gotten too focused, that was all. Spent too much time thinking about Danny, like he’d said. 

Except maybe now he thought that all along the thing that had changed somewhere along the line without him knowing it was _him_.

H50H50H50

The hat was back.

Steve had almost forgotten it had ever existed, but it all flooded back to him now, seeing Danny walk into his office wearing it. Immediately after Danny had returned from his trip to the east coast back in September, he’d worn an ugly pork pie hat for a solid week. He had chalked it up as some weird remnant from his time in New Jersey and had made fun of his partner with great aplomb, but the one thing he hadn’t been able to do was dislodge it from Danny’s head. 

_Steve was filled with nervous energy. He had never imagined how long a day without Danny could be, let alone seven of them. He checked the main HQ door repeatedly, glad no one else had arrived for the day yet to witness him being so jittery. Kono would make fun of him and Chin would just give him some inscrutable look. Whatever, it didn’t matter. He’d missed his partner, so what?_

_His partner, who was now walking through those doors … with something on his head. Steve frowned and quickly left his office._

_“Seriously, what is that thing?” Steve asked, bothered by the addition to Danny’s wardrobe probably more than was healthy. “You lose the ties only to put on a hat? Who wears a hat in Hawaii?”_

_“Lots of people, Steven,” Danny replied, his tone mild but his expression was not. “Leave it be. Thanks for the stellar welcome back, by the way.”_

_“Welcome back?”_

_But the hat was awful. Truly terrible. Technically, anyone could wear a hat. Some people simply shouldn’t, and Danny was one of them. It sat on his head, tipped back and askew slightly and he looked like some caricature of a television cop from the sixties or something. Steve lunged for it, intent on tipping it off of Danny’s head. He didn’t get anywhere near it. Somehow or another, he’d actually ended up on his stomach, one arm wrenched up and twisted slightly like he was a perp._

_“Leave the hat alone,” was all Danny said as he released Steve’s hand and strolled away. “I’ll bet we have something better to do. Like work, maybe.”_

_Steve was still on the floor when Chin and Kono arrived, still a tad stunned at being deposited there._

He was not thrilled to see the hat’s reappearance. Last time, Danny had never taken it off. Inside, outside, everywhere Danny went, he went with that blasted monstrosity on his head. Now, Steve was a fairly open-minded person. He preferred women, yes, but there had been hints of a spark for men here and there throughout his life. None as strong as he felt with Danny, but still, they’d existed. He wasn’t as shocked that he’d discovered his attraction for Danny went beyond platonic as he was that it had taken him so long to notice it. Once he’d realized the depth of his feelings, he knew he had to do something about it. He knew the likelihood of anything coming from it was slim. 

As a SEAL, he knew how to compartmentalize. So he did what he always had to do. He had it bad for Danny, that was true, but he’d get over it. He didn’t have a choice. Even if there was something to pursue, it was a bad idea. Danny was his friend and partner. He wouldn’t risk losing what he already had. He couldn’t. A lot of the time, though, it was hard not to think about his partner. Danny was at his side nearly every day, as were all of the distractions that came with him. Danny’s shoulders were a distraction. The curve of his lower back, the swell of his pretty amazing butt. The crinkle at the corners of his eyes, the newly-frequent, slightly different confidence. That little curl of hair at the nape of Danny’s neck.

The one the ugly hat obstructed his view of.

“Danny,” Steve said, couldn’t help himself. Now that he realized that he wanted Danny, even if he couldn’t have him, the hat was even more offensive. “Really? That thing is back?”

Danny glared at him. 

Even that look sometimes made Steve weak at the knees. It wasn’t just the physical, of course. There was also just Danny. His sharp wit, the utter joy that fairly radiated from Danny whenever he was talking about Grace, the way Danny wouldn’t let him get away with shit. His partner didn’t know how difficult he was making things for Steve, he really didn’t. Still, Steve was a professional. He could do this. He could and would. In fact, the hat might help.

“I like it,” Danny said. He stepped back when Steve took a step toward him, raising his right hand. “Anh. No touching the hat.”

“It looks ridiculous.”

“Your opinion is noted.” Danny tilted his head to the side, but the damned hat didn’t fall off. “And deemed beside the point. Like I said, I like it. I don’t really care if you don’t.” 

Okay, as Danny pivoted and headed for his own office and Steve’s attention landed on those shoulders, that ass, he knew the hat wouldn’t help curb his attraction at all. Really, considering all of the negative things about Danny he managed to ignore, what was a hat? All Steve could hope was that the hideous thing would disappear again this time the way it had last. He swallowed his protestations, knew they were as futile as his attempts to compartmentalize his feelings for Danny away.

H50H50H50

Steve was in a world of hurt. He had backed himself into a corner of his own making and was unable to find a way out. Both of those things were unusual for him. He had years of arduous training and experience that had enabled him to get out of worse situations than this. He leaned his head against the sofa, looked at the colorful splotches of diffuse colored lights on the ceiling, the silhouette of evergreen branches cutting darker swaths through them. The chime of Bing Crosby singing some carol or another emitted faintly from the lanai, where the party had centered.

Most of the guests were gone, a small crew anyway. Christmas was for family, and while his team and friends were family to him, he knew he was only adopted. Kono had stopped by only briefly, citing a wrathful gaggle of aunties who would have her head if she didn’t attend the Kalakaua family affair and cutting out after only an hour. Same with Chin and Malia. The only one left was Danny, who was Graceless this year and had been fairly miserable about it and happy for the company. 

It was a blessing and a curse as far as Steve was concerned. Danny was the only one he’d truly needed there with him. He couldn’t shake Danny no matter how much he tried. If anything, he had started deluding himself into thinking there might be hope. It was that time of year, after all, when dreamers dreamed big. He realized now how all along he hadn’t had much choice when it came to Danny. He’d always told himself he had chosen to bring Danny on as his partner, but the more the thought about it, the more he realized that the moment he’d met the other man there had been no other possible outcome. His choicelessness when it came to Danny since then was just variations of a theme.

“There you are,” Danny said as he entered the room. He carried two glasses filled with frothy liquid. “And here you go.”

“What is it?” Steve said, accepting the glass and trying not to scoot over when Danny sat so close he might as well have landed on his lap. 

See, there. What was that, if not hope? Steve slid a look at Danny, his face warmed by the bright Christmas lights and … that thing about him which had started Steve down this path in the first place. 

“Egg nog. My great aunt Betsy’s recipe. I should warn you, it packs a wallop.”

It wasn’t the only thing that did. Steve took a careful sip, hit with an overwhelming, potent combination of nutmeg and bourbon. He took another sip, giving an approving hmmm.

“Right?” Danny said, taking his own drink. “It’s good stuff.”

They sat, drinking egg nog and saying nothing. The silence between them was companionable, the soundtrack of holiday tunes fitting for the night and the air of peace Steve somehow felt even with his continued inner turmoil. He kept sneaking glances at Danny, fascinated by the play of lights on his face, his strong jaw, his blond hair. Steve was glad he’d been right about the hat; it had stayed firmly on Danny’s head for a little less than a week. If he’d worn it tonight, then Steve couldn’t appreciate the light strands he had come to like so much, or that little spot at the nape of Danny’s neck.

The corner he was in seemed to be shrinking by the second. He tried to concentrate on finishing the egg nog, enjoyed the warm flush of the alcohol. 

“So,” Danny said after a time. He set his empty glass on the coffee table, shifted on the sofa until he was facing Steve. “I have to know something.”

“What?” Steve put his own glass on the table, next to Danny’s, and took the opportunity to slide away slightly. 

“Am I going to have to be totally cliché and break out the mistletoe to get you to make a move?”

“What?” 

“I know. I know, Steve, have for a while. You’re not as subtle as you think you are.” Danny grinned, ran a hand through his hair. “As subtle as you think I’m not.”

Steve’s heart pounded. Danny couldn’t, but Danny _was_ , he could see it in the intense gaze his partner was pinning him in place with. 

“Danny,” he said. 

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Danny said, and then moved fast, straddled Steve’s lap. “A guy could grow old waiting for you.”

Danny kissed him, no hesitation.

Steve might have considered what it would be like to kiss Danny. He’d never gone so far as to take any action with any of those men he’d held vague attraction to, so he had no real idea what differences would come with kissing a man. None of his imaginings came close to the reality of having Danny’s lips on his. He had held himself rigid for so long, careful to keep his feelings in check, that he caved easily with the possibility becoming very real. He parted his lips, smiled at the way Danny again didn’t hesitate to elevate the kiss from chaste to dirty. The feel of Danny’s tongue against his and the obviousness of Danny’s arousal made him moan. Danny tasted like bourbon and whipped cream and something even deeper, richer. Just Danny. He pulled Danny closer, ran a hand down to cup that magnificent ass, the other up to twist his fingers through Danny’s hair, the fulln… Wait.

The hair. His fingers slipped through hair that was silky and smooth. It was Danny’s _hair_ that was different, why he looked younger and more relaxed. Steve had thought his partner had toned down the hair products, but it wasn’t that. Danny had more hair, he was sure of it. He made a noise at the back of his throat and broke from the kiss, panting. All of the time he’d spent trying to figure it out, and it was right there. He grinned.

“Oh my god, that’s why you wore that hat,” Steve blurted. “Your hair. You did something with your hair. I was right. I knew there was something different.”

Even in the dim, already colorful light, he could see Danny blush. His partner pulled away, though he remained straddling Steve’s lap. His lips looked reddened from the kiss, slightly slick. A soft lock of that hair fell across his forehead. He was disheveled and damn fucking hot. Steve could allow himself to think that now.

“So help me, Steve, if you make fun of me for this, I will kill you,” Danny said quickly, not denying a thing. 

“I wouldn’t.” Which wasn’t strictly true. Steve had teased Danny a few times about his need to have every receding hair in place. “Danny, I won’t.”

Danny’s shoulders relaxed and he smiled. He was incredible. No matter how much hair was on the top of his head, Danny would always be that to Steve. His partner ran a hand through that new growth of hair. Steve couldn’t help himself; he followed suit, loved the feel of it against his fingers. Danny just kept smiling at him, let Steve toy with the strands of hair, when before he would have ducked away.

“Want to tell me why?”

“It’s a bit obvious, I suppose.” Danny shrugged. “I got sick of the hair swirling down the bottom of my shower drain. One day I just thought why the hell not. Planned vacation time around the procedure. Do you … do you think it looks okay?”

“You’ve always been amazing; this only accentuates it,” Steve said without a thought, then wished like hell he could take it back when Danny started chuckling.

“Well, I did it for me,” Danny said, his smile turning mischievous. “But hairy Christmas, baby.”

Steve began laughing, kept laughing as Danny leaned down and kissed him again.


End file.
